Burst water pipe freezes A12 in Den Haag; road closed

The A12 in Den Haag, also called the Utrechtsebaan, is closed in both directions on Thursday morning due to a burst water pipe. The extremely cold weather turned the road into something of an ice rink, the Telegraaf reports.

"The water is coming down from the viaducts in buckets", a spokesperson for Dutch public works department Rijkswaterstaat said to the newspaper. "It is minus 8 degrees, there are water and ice on the road and icicles are forming." The spokesperson could not say when the road will reopen. Motorists are advised to detour via the Stijwend Tunnel (N14) in Leidschendam-Voorburg.

There are also ice-related traffic problems at the Heineoord Tunnel on the A29 and at the Drecht Tunnel on the A16. In both cases two lanes are closed in the direction of Rotterdam, according to traffic information services ANWB and VID.

Frost damage to the asphalt also closed two of three lanes on the A16 at the Van Brienenoordbrug. The lanes will reopen after 8:00 a.m., but the speed limit will be reduced to 70 kilometers per hour, the Rijkswaterstaat spokesperson said to the Telegraaf.